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A positive change was brought about in the country when restrictions of various kinds on the game were lifted. Professional players were allowed to compete, clubs were convinced to do away with the minimum-age restriction for their billiard rooms and new tournaments were introduced. First successful experiment was to organise the Latif Masters Tournament to honour one of the great players of the game in our country.
That created an interest in the country. Pakistan started actively looking forward to organising the Asian Championship.1991 was about the time when Red & White was looking around for a game to sponsor. Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association were keenly looking for money to start the championship.The media was fascinated by a game that seemed to have a lot of potential but which it did not necessarily understand. Everything seemed to click and we were able to organise the Asian Championship in 1991 that opened the game upto the masses. Within a year, snooker parlours opened up all over the country. The introduction of prize money as incentives helped bring the game to a professional level. Players began to realise that they could earn a respectable living through the game.
In 1993 Pakistan hosted what was described as the finest organised World Championship in Karachi. The crowning glory, of course, was Mohammad Yousuf's triumph at the 1994 World Championship. That put Pakistan on the world map. Today, we are regarded second, only behind Thailand in Asia, having beaten India and other countries that have a much longer tradition of the game. Pakistan have a vibrant, active pool of 32 top players who compete against each other on a regular basis to determine their rankings. Snooker has been recognised as a competitive sport and will be a part of the National Games. Internationally, snooker has been accepted as a sport at the Asian Games.